Oh, good: the Monopoly movie is still happening. We knew that was the idea, even though Universal turned up its nose at the idea of the board game-based movie along with Ouija, Clue and a couple other projects. That studio disinterest notwithstanding, Ridley Scott and Hasbro are moving ahead with the film, and have hired Ed Wood writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to write the script. Read More »

Several years ago, jaws dropped from coast to coast as news broke that Ridley Scott was attached to direct a movie version of the popular board game Monopoly. Since then, the Oscar-nominated director has thankfully moved on to make several other films while Monopoly remains mired in development hell. The notion of a Monopoly movie was so completely wild though, it kind of got our collective imaginations moving. What would Monopoly the Movie look like? At one point, a rumored plot description of Scott’s take leaked online but it wasn’t until today that we have an actual, live action representation of what this could be.

A group called Half Day Today has created a 2 minute trailer for Monopoly the Movie that’s described as by director Matthew Stubstad as “a sort of ‘Tron,’ ‘Jumanji,’ ‘Wall Street’ and ‘Inception’ hybrid… hodgepodge.” Check it out after the break. Read More »

We knew it was bound to happen eventually: Warner Bros and producers Mark Gordon, Jason Blum and Guymon Casady are in talks to develop a feature film adaptation of the classic Taito video game Space Invaders. Warner bought Midway Games last summer, but the US publisher of Space Invaders does not own the theatrical rights to the game.

Honestly, I think Space Invaders falls on the more promising side of the game adaptation scale because the brand name still has some value and comes with little attachment other than the alien invasion sci-fi film genre. The pixelated aliens have invaded pop-culture and are an iconic symbol of retro video gaming. One would assume that WB would have to work the symbols/shapes into the film somehow. [LATimes]

This week, Dave Chen, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley reflect on the style and career of director Jon Turtletaub, try to unravel the plot of Ridley Scott’s new Monopoly movie, remember the greatness of Independence Day, and compare the Kick-Ass teaser trailer with the Comic-Con footage they’ve already seen. Special guest writer/director Dan Eckman joins us for this episode. Dan Eckman and Derrick Comedy’s first feature-length film, Mystery Team, is out in limited release right now. If you don’t have it in your local theater, head on over to their website and Demand It!

You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us next Monday at 10 PM EST / 7 PM PST at Slashfilm’s live page as we review Precious.

I thought I knew how a Monopoly movie could work, even what a Ridley ScottMonopoly movie would look like, but I didn’t expect anything like this. I’ll let Frank Beddor, the man behind the movie’s concept, lay it all out for you:

[H]e’s in this very vibrant place, Monopoly City, and he’s just come out of a Chance Shop. As it goes on, he takes on the evil Parker Brothers in the game of Monolopy. He has to defeat them. It tries to incorporate all the iconic imageries – a sports car pulls up, there’s someone on a horse, someone pushing a wheelbarrow – and rich Uncle Pennybags, you’re going to see him as the maître d’ at the restaurant and he’s the buggy driver and the local eccentric and the doorman at the opera. There’s all these sight gags.

Er… okay. So it’s like Zathura or Jumanji then? Not what I had in mind. After the break, who this “he” is, and how he will get himself into this surrealist scrape in the first place.

The peg will be played by Keanu Reeves. Hollywood’s looming shit squall of “movies” based on board games finally received an irksome hat tip from Stephen Colbert andthe top shelf writers at The Colbert Report. It didn’t disappoint. After mentioning Ridley Scott‘s Monopoly project, complete with an Alien-inspired conundrum for mustachioe guy, Colbert feigned interest in manning the stations of Battleship. Joining him in a gripping audition for Universal‘s live-action board game, due 2011, was none other than ever-relaxed Jeff Goldblum. Wearing a flamboyant hat. One can only hope that Battleship director Peter Berg wasn’t busy arranging another colonic in hell (…or Hancock 2) so as to witness the duo’s masterful recitation of grid coordinates. Cue the red lights.

In this episode of the /Filmcast, Dave, Devindra, and Adam reflect on the possibilities of a Ridley-Scott-directed Monopoly film, spend some quality time disparaging Academy Award nomination rules, and ponder the implications of two bold, brand new trailers. Special guest Adam Kempenaar joins us from the Filmspotting podcast to help us review James Bond’s Quantum of Solace.

Have any questions, comments, concerns, feedback, or praise? E-mail us at slashfilmcast@gmail.com or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us next next Monday night at 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST as we review the vampire hit, Twilight with Jen Yamato from Rottentomatoes.

I’ve decided to make “Worst Idea Ever” a regular feature since it appears that the Hollywood movie studios are in a never-ending race to see who can greenlight the worst of the worst ideas.

Ridley Scott is now OFFICIALLY attached to direct a big screen movie based on Hasbro’s popular board game Monopoly. Corpse Bride/Monster House scribe Pamela Pettler has been hired to write the script. Scott had been developing the project with plans to produce since June 2007.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that Scott plans to give the film “a futuristic sheen along the lines of his iconic Blade Runner,” but back in August 2007 Scott told the LA Times that it “ought to be humorous and for the family”. Scott explained that the humor will come out of the drastic changes in economic class, “particularly when your uncle suddenly gets [Park Place]” … “You watch people change. You’re witness to Jekyll and Hyde. Somewhere in that is a hysterically amusing and I think rather exciting film.”

I know that Scott’s recent filmography hasn’t been “amazing” (American Gangster is overrated), but this is the guy who directed Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator. What is a guy of that caliber doing directing a family comedy based on a board game? Seriously!

The answer is: GI Jane. Some of you might not remember, but Ridley Scott was also behind the atrocity that was GI Jane. I’m sure that Monopoly movie will be Scott’s huge clunker of this decade.

There really couldn’t be a reason (other than may-be money) to make a movie based on the classic Parker Brothers’ Monopoly board game. When I first heard rumblings that Ridley Scott was trying to adapt the game to the big screen, I tried to ignore them. I thought, ‘It’s probably one of those big money development deals that will fall by the wayside’, right? And why would the guy who made Blade Runner ever be interested in a Monopoly movie? Here is what Scott told the LATimes:

“Monopoly is still the most popular board game — I might be misquoting! — in the world. So it’s really finding the universe for that game. Because clearly it ought to be humorous and for the family — the funny way it brings out, particularly when your uncle suddenly gets Park Lane and — in England, we have Park Lane, Mayfair and Barclay Square, what’s it in America? Park and Madison? So you watch people change. You’re witness to Jekyll and Hyde. Somewhere in that is a hysterically amusing and I think rather exciting film.”

An exciting film? About Monopoly? Am I missing something? But don’t worry, Scott has cleared up rumors, he won’t be making a Blade Runner sequel:

“There is no sequel. And I intend probably never to do a sequel. . . . I like to do the first one, and if they want to do a sequel? Fine.”